THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CENTRAL ADMINISTRATION AND THE POLITICAL SITUATION IN ICELAND IN THE PERIOD OF THE FIRST ICELANDIC CONSTITUTION

Abstract

The extension of the central administration in Iceland was associated with the aspirations of Icelanders to gain first, greater autonomy, and finally sovereignty. This was a bloodless struggle carried on through constant negotiations with the Danish authorities and using pressure from both the political elites of Iceland, as well as the majority of the population of Iceland. These transformations occurred over a longtime span, but the actions were carried out consistently by successive generations of Icelanders. Appointing a separate Minister for Iceland in the Danish government in the seventies of the nineteenth century, initially had only symbolic character. However, transferring the seat of the Ministry for Iceland to Reykjavík in 1904, and putting it under the management of the Icelanders themselves, was of great importance and constituted a strong basis for further development of more and more independent central administration in Iceland. The next important step was increasing the number of ministries to three in 1917. From the end of following year, they played the role of a government of a sovereign state under the Act of the Danish- Icelandic union. However, Iceland and Denmark were still conjoined by the monarch and the united foreign policy. In order to normalize and consolidate the newly created political and legal situation, the new Icelandic constitution was passed in 1920. Also, the great competence displayed by the persons occupying the highest positions in the central administration of Iceland should be pointed out. Each Minister for Iceland, and all the Prime ministers and at the same time ministers of justice, who held their office in the discussed period, were educated in law and already had considerable, clerical experience. Each Finance Minister and the Minister of Labour had also a wide, relevant professional experience. It should be noted, that the vast majority of Icelandic ministers studied at the University of Copenhagen. Besides, some of the future ministers for Iceland obtained their clerical experience working in Danish ministries. These facts enabled them to explore the mechanisms of administration and the entire political system of Denmark. That experience and contacts built up then were probably helpful during the negotiations with the authorities of Denmark.